Glasgow Limp Home
v Reading, Posted 25/07/04

For a time in this one ot looked like it would be last man standing. Both sides were already depleted with Lee Dicken and Chris Schramm missing and rider replacement operating for both. It was to be a long afternoon with the meeting being peppered with falls and injury.

It started well enough for Glasgow with the almost customary 5-1 opening heat but problems started as early as heat 2 when Thompson appeared tro merely slide off. Unfortunately although looking an innocent enough fall he suffered a broken wrist as a consequence.

After a lengthy delay heat 3 got underway but more problems were to arise when after a tough race Morris landed in the fence on the final bends taking a hard knock to the head in the process. As a result there was another 25 minute delay and Wizzer was withdrawn from the meeting with concussion.

It was now going to be a case of which team could adapt best to the circumstances and Harris showed his intentions with a heat 4 victory over Parker after a good battle. this was to be followed by a Reading 5-1 in heat 5 with Harris collecting the scalps of Stancl and Bentley in heat 6 to ensure a share of the points.

With an easy 5-1 for Glasgow in heat 7 followed by a 4-2, this left Reading the opportunity to bring Harris in as a TR in heat 9. The first running of this heat saw contraversy with Mills falling whilst at the back. Glasgow were on a 5-2 at this stage so he deliberately stayed down-as in fairness would many riders but it did not go down well with the Glasgow support. In the re-run, Harris was to share the points with an excellent last bend pass of James Grieves.

A 5-1 for Stancl and Bentley in heat 10 allowed Reding to bring Bird in as a TR in heat 11 and only a superb pass by Parker prevented Bird taking top marks. The next three heats were tied securing the bonus for Reading but ensuring a home win for the Tigers. However, Bird was another faller in heat 13 and appeared to sustain an arm injury.

Full credit today for both teams for carrying on through adversity with the injury problems suffered by both, particularly Reading

The scorecard and heat details can be found here.

Tiger Points:

George Stancl	***	A solid performance
Paul Bentley	***	A decent home performance!
James Grieves	****	Very determined
Shane Parker	***	Subdued and disappointing by Shanes high standards
Mark Thompson	n/a	Impossible to judge-get well soon
Eric Carrillo	****	Becoming very reliable perhaps being a little overused but coping
Gary Beaton	*	Far too soon still for PL but tried